dates for the Yule Ball
by An Artists Account
Summary: I always wondered what happened when Krum asked Hermione out in the library. Here goes...


Hermione tucked her bushy brown hair behind her ears and sighed in annoyance. Really, she thought, angrily slamming her copy of Numerology and Grammatology shut, couldn't the fan club go anywhere else, just because he's famous and can do that Wonky Faint thing.

A mental image of Ron and Harry's faces if they heard her call it that popped into her head and she bit back a grin. She knew a lot more about Quidditch than she pretended.

Then the twittering started again. Romilda Vane was leading the group and seemed to be asking a tall 6th year if she thought Krum would sign her neck in a indelible marker.

'Just zone it out', she muttered under her breath and went back to her ancient runes essay, only to have ink splattered across her conclusion as one of the 3rd years, who had attempted to climb onto the desk Hermione was working at to see over the shelves of books to watch Krum pour over a books from the Underwater Dwellings section of the library, had fallen off bringing a cascade of books down with her.

Hermione sighed again, ignored the moaning girl on the floor and siphoned the spilt ink off her newly finished essay before shoving everything back into her bag and leaving the library.

She didn't notice the snap of a closing book and the pair of brown eyes that followed her to the door.

The next day Hermione was once again in the library. Snow had fallen again over night and most of her spare time was spent out in the grounds with the twins, Ron, Ginny and Harry having snowball fights, so most of their homework was being squashed into the evenings.

Harry had Quidditch practise and Ron, after swearing loudly, much to the annoyance of Madam Pince, had departed for the common room, his scrawled potions essay stuffed unceremoniously into his bag, sporting a large lipstick mark where one of the fan club, again stalking Krum, had accidentally thrown it in an attempt to catch the famous seekers eye.

So Hermione was alone and Krum was once again pouring over the books in the section called Underwater Dwellings and was immersed in a Herbology book worthy of Neville Longbottom and thick enough to suit Hermione herself.

Least he's got brains, it would be so typical that he would be the hex him first and ask questions later sort, she thought disparagingly.

She glanced up to see him watching her though he quickly dropped his head back to his book. Hermione dotted a full stop, blew on the parchment to dry it and, after checking her watch, it was five minutes to closing, aloud her thoughts to wonder to the Christmas holidays which started the day after tomorrow and more importantly the Yule Ball on Christmas day. A Ravenclaw had asked her to go with him but she was kind of hoping that Ron would ask her.

So engrossed was she in her thoughts that when the shadow from the gas lamps burning on the walls fell across her desk she didn't look up but said "Alright Madam Pince, I'm going now." And was out of her chair, her bag over her shoulder and her arms full of books before looking up and seeing , not the beaked nose of the irritable librarian, but Victor Krum leaning against the shelves with a copy of what looked like 'Surviving the Unpredictable' under his arm.

"Oh... Hi"

Hermione was flustered. He grinned at her.

"You are Herm-I-On-Ninny, Yes?"

"Yeah that's me. Look we'd better go or Pince'll lock us in."

"You know it is Christmas soon, yes?"

"Erm, that normally happens about this time of year."

Krum looked slightly abashed and tried again.

"Vell, I vas vondering, I mean I've been vatching you."

Remembering the feeling of a pair of eyes boring into her back she nodded. "I know."

"Vell," Here Krum took a deep breath and blurted out "I vos vondering if you vould go to the ball vith me?"

Hermione stared at him, "Why would you want to go with me? I don't know anything about quidditch."

"That's partly vhy I vant to go vith you."

Ron popped into her head but she pushed it away, he'd had plenty of time to ask her and he obviously wasn't going to.

She smiled "Okay."

"You vill?" He looked delighted.

"Uhuh."

"Great"

There was a sudden click and all the lamps went out.

"Oh crap. They've locked us in."


End file.
